The Sunday Magazine

The Sunday Magazine for December 1, 2024

Rob Russo and Stephanie Levitz size up how Canadian politicians are responding to Donald Trump's tariff threat, Evan Friss talks about why bookstores endure against the odds, Carolyn Whitzman shares approaches to solving Canada's housing crisis, and our monthly challenge That's Puzzling! returns.
Piya Chattopadhyay is host of The Sunday Magazine. (CBC)

This week on The Sunday Magazine with host Piya Chattopadhyay:

Trump's tariff threat sends Canadian politics into a tizzy

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's surprise trip to dine with Donald Trump in Florida capped off a week of Canadian politicians scrambling to respond to the U.S. president-elect's threat of a 25 per cent tariff on goods entering the U.S. from Canada. The Economist's Canadian correspondent Rob Russo and Stephanie Levitz, senior reporter in The Globe and Mail's Parliament Hill bureau, join Chattopadhyay to size up the strategies both federal and provincial leaders are taking, what this move may mean for Canada-U.S. relations, and how all the tariff talk is upending agendas on the home front.

Why bookstores still maintain their magic, against the odds

In this holiday season, you may find yourself wandering into your local bookstore, surveying the shelves for gifts to give to your loved ones – or yourself. But as any book lover knows, these shops are more than just places to pick up the hot new bestseller or an old novel you've always wanted to read. We venture to Toronto's Ben McNally Books to hear about what makes them so magical. Then, Chattopadhyay speaks with historian and author Evan Friss about how these havens have managed to survive, despite threats from Amazon, the pandemic and emerging technology.

The 'loaded nacho' approach is the recipe to fix our housing crisis, says researcher

Many Canadians fear losing it and being trapped by financing it... that is, if we can access it at all. And while housing in Canada is often portrayed as a complicated crisis with no clear solution, Carolyn Whitzman says the problem is completely fixable. The housing and social policy researcher tells Chattopadhyay about what needs to be done to chart a course forward, and how guidance can be gleaned from both international policy and our own country's history.

That's Puzzling! for December 2024

In the latest edition of our monthly challenge That's Puzzling!, Chattopadhyay competes against one familiar voice and one clever listener in a battle of brain games devised by puzzle master Peter Brown. Playing along this month are Mark Connolly, the host of CBC Radio's Edmonton AM, and Winnipeg listener Debbie Hamlin.